Mini Muscle

September '08

Feature Article from Hemmings Muscle Machines

1/18th-scale 1964 Mercury Marauder
Road Signature by Yat Ming • 800-829-1520www.diecastauto.com • $29.99
When it comes to non-Mustang muscle Ford products, not a lot of choices exist in the current die-cast market.
That's why it surprises us to see a 1964 Mercury Park Lane Marauder in 1/18th scale.
Not that there's anything wrong with the selection. The two-door fastback hardtop has what appears to be an FE big-block under the hood, along with bucket seats and a console-mounted shifter, which made for a fairly sporty Mercury for '64.
And not that there's anything wrong with the model itself. Separate chrome trim pieces--rather than dull silver paint--provide some shine to the exterior and even continue to the interior to trim the seats and the door panels. No plug wires or extreme detailing, but at least Yat Ming found a couple different colors to liven up the engine bay and underside.
Breathtaking it isn't, but it does offer a reasonable amount of quality for the price and should satisfy some of our FoMoCo fans out there.
1/24th-scale 1976 Ford Maverick Stallion
Motor Max • 800-829-1520 • www.diecastauto.com • $13.99
Motor Max must be following the latest simmering trend of cheap 1970s cars by offering a selection of those in scale form: a Gremlin, a Vega, a Pinto, a Chrysler LeBaron station wagon and now a Maverick Stallion.
While most of the lineup (including a regular Maverick and a get-your-tooling's-worth Mercury Comet) retails for $10 or $11, the Stallion goes for a few bucks more--but for what?
The wheels aren't correct, the trunk doesn't open, dogleg hinges abound and, save for a blue air cleaner, a monochromatic black six-cylinder occupies the monochromatic black engine bay. On the other hand, production quality is about as tight as you're going to get for a sub-$20 model and the dimensions appear spot-on.
Still, for the extra few bucks, it would've been nice to see a V-8 under the hood, in addition to the Stallion badging and paint.

This article originally appeared in the September, 2008 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.